Doctors would jab sharp instruments into King Henry VIII’s arm and drain blood out of his body. The best medical minds of the 16th century prescribed bloodletting as a means to “rebalance the body’s humors," the spring equinox being the ideal time. Henry didn't argue with his physicians. After all, Tudor England had the best health care system in the world.
Later doctors told later kings that bleeding was of no medical benefit. The kings did not thunder: “Off with your head. My health care will not be rationed.” They said: “Great. I hated that.”
But they were not stuck in America’s health care debate, where foes of reform greet any effort to curb unnecessary treatments with hysterical rants about “rationing.” Any real conservative would regard the enormous wasteful spending in American medicine as a wonderful opportunity to save money without undermining quality of care.
Every society must engage in difficult discussions on what insurers, be they private or government, should pay for. Arguments over very expensive drugs that extend lives only a few weeks or organ transplants with little chance of success are tough, but they are valid. Americans, however, can't even get a sane conversation going about procedures that do nothing or even cause more harm than good.
The underlying issue isn't what treatments one may have. You can buy as much health care as you want with your own money. The issue is what the taxpayers will cover.
“60 Minutes” had an eye-popping segment on what Medicare spends on patients in their final two months -- $50 billion last year -- and where the money goes. Up to 20 percent of these patients ended their lives hooked up to machines in noisy intensive care units. One woman complained that her dying mother was visited by 25 specialists who gave her dozens of tests, including a pap smear for cervical cancer, a slow-growing disease.
Like that daughter, many of us wouldn't want this invasive medical care for someone we love, even it were free. But it's not free. The taxpayers are bearing these costs, which left unchecked, will bankrupt America.
Remember the moronic “death panel” circus? Phony conservatives so vilified the sensible idea of having Medicare cover advance-care planning consultations between doctors and patients that it had to be ripped out of the legislation. Their twisted logic amounted to this: Taxpayers should be forced to pay for medical tortures that dying people never wanted.
Even healthy 25-year-olds should do advance-care planning in the event that disease or an accident leaves them unable to make medical decisions. That means having a “living will” and naming someone to make medical calls on their behalf.
A government task force recently released a study indicating that the number of mammograms now being prescribed hurts more than helps most women. Cost was not a consideration.
But the demagogues re-emerged, accusing government of denying women potentially lifesaving tests to cut costs and of telling physicians what to do.
All the task force did was supply data that might lead some doctors to order fewer mammograms for the benefit of those patients at low risk of breast cancer.
Medicare continues to pay for annual mammograms, and any woman who wants more breast x-rays than an insurer will cover can open her own wallet.
The bottom line for reform’s enemies is not patients’ health and certainly not the taxpayers.
For them, the only bottom line that counts clearly belongs to the economic interests feasting on the status quo.
Had Henry VIII learned that he had been bled only because the court physician wanted more business, a lot more blood would have flowed than his.
To find out more about Froma Harrop, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.
Viewpoints
Related Photos
-
Froma Harrop
Insane debate over wasted medical spending
- Viewpoints
-
-
Europe’s economic tremors offer useful lesson for Kentucky
Americans paying even cursory attention to what’s happening on the other side of the Atlantic are about to get a stark reminder of an economic principle that too often gets pushed to the side – especially during troubling times: No government has ever taxed, spent or borrowed its way to prosperity.
-
Why would anyone not vote?
Should those of us who vote be disturbed that so few people voted in this past Tuesday’s election?
Only 17 percent of Madison County’s registered voters went to the polls. And, not everyone who’s eligible is registered to vote. -
Republicans are making some noise
FRANKFORT — Last week’s news was mostly about Tuesday’s primary election but some Republicans who were not on the ballot also had interesting things to say.
-
Taking our Sunday night baths
There in the head of Blair Branch, when I was growing up in the 1950s and ‘60s, we always took our weekly baths, even during cold weather, every Sunday night, whether we needed one or not.
-
Obama pursues higher tax rates
In the run-up to this weekend’s G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European “austerity” with Barack Obama’s economic policies.
European spending cuts, the argument goes, have hurt people and are arousing political opposition, while Obama’s proposals to keep federal spending at 24 percent of gross domestic product indefinitely are likely to succeed. -
Graduation day
It’s that time of year. What’s the old song? “I can still remember...” And I do. It’s what I talk about when I’m invited to be a graduation speaker and what I write about every year at this time.
It’s about all those painful memories. -
Recent news could cause panic for Obama campaign
Is it panic time at Obama headquarters in Chicago? You might get that impression from watching events – and the polls – over the past few weeks.
-
EPA goes medieval on Kentucky coal
EPA goes medieval on KRoman legions? Horrific crucifixions? Sacking dissenters and making examples out of their deaths?
These may sound like some of the gruesome tactics used by military commanders of the ancient world, but according to Al Armendariz, who, until recently, was regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, it’s much more relevant to modern America than we’d care to believe. -
Don’t just pick out a card
When Anna Jarvis launched the movement for a Mother’s Day observance in 1908, her intention was to have everyone write their mother a letter, putting some thought and sincerity into thanking and telling her what she had meant to them.
Unsurprisingly, the idea caught on quickly and became very popular. But, Jarvis was disappointed with the outcome. -
Returning to a calmer situation
FRANKFORT – After a two-month absence, I’ve returned to Frankfort where things seem calmer than when I left.
- More Viewpoints Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
